action thriller & suspense fiction – Rosepoint Publishing

A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci #AudiobookReview #suspensefiction

Editors’ pick Best Books of the Year 2024

Book Blurb:

Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially-charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully-accused Black defendants in this courtroom drama from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.

Jack Lee is a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, who has never done anything to push back against racism, until he decides to represent Jerome Washington, a Black man charged with brutally killing an elderly and wealthy white couple. Doubting his decision, Lee fears that his legal skills may not be enough to prevail in a case where the odds are already stacked against both him and his client. And he quickly finds himself out of his depth when he realizes that what is at stake is far greater than the outcome of a murder trial.

Desiree DuBose is a Black lawyer from Chicago who has devoted her life to furthering the causes of justice and equality for everyone. She comes to Freeman County and enters a fractious and unwieldy partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in the Commonwealth. Yet DuBose is also aware that powerful outside forces are at work to blunt the victories achieved by the Civil Rights era.

Lee and DuBose could not be more dissimilar. On their own, neither one can stop the prosecution’s deliberate march towards a guilty verdict and the electric chair. But together, the pair fight for what once seemed impossible: a chance for a fair trial and true justice.

Over a decade in the writing, A Calamity of Souls breathes richly imagined and detailed life into a bygone era, taking the listener through a world that will seem both foreign and familiar.

My Review:

I borrowed this audiobook from my local library because of the author’s name with whom I was familiar having read and enjoyed previous books, the last a thriller, The 6:20 Man. This novel, however, is a far cry from the others. It’s a serious indictment of the time (1968) and place (Virginia), although certainly not a new story, nor unfortunately one that has appreciably changed since then.

Jack Lee, a white attorney, attempts to take on the defense of Jerome, a young black Vietnam War veteran in the killing of Jerome’s elderly white employers. The author wastes little time in developing his characters sympathetically and the reader almost immediately connects with both.

Jack has never before endeavored to take on such a sensational trial, much less one that will engender strong personal and political repercussions, including from his own family who raised him with a lack of overt prejudice and quickly realize he’s in way above his head and is in deep doo-do.

It is then that he is approached by Desiree DuBose, a Black lawyer from Chicago. She is well known for her expertise in the courtroom as well as her efforts in the fight for racial equality.

The novel crafts a thought-provoking, emotional legal thriller as well as a family drama. Steeped in historical perspective and well developed characters, the narrative deeply dives into the fight to protect and salvage their client as well as battle a corrupt and flawed justice system. If Jerome didn’t kill the elderly couple, who did?

A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci — A Calamity of Souls – UK cover

The tension ratchets up throughout the storyline, often boiling over in heated controversial racial injustice arguments by Desiree. Both main characters are well developed and despite, or perhaps because of, an extreme difference in backgrounds appear to work well together. They begin to develop a grudging respect for each other.

The author pulls no punches in using malicious characters and the language, dialogue, and slurs reflect the time and place. It’s an intensive look back on an ugly system with an emotionally spirited plea in and between the lines to look at it again.

The Author’s Note will explain a lot of the decisions he made in the writing of this literary fiction effort which certainly takes a raw turn. It’s a hard read as well as lengthy, but take the time to read or listen to the informative explanation, which may answer your question.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The narrators did an amazing job of representing a cross-section of souls. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Action Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Mystery Action & Adventure, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ASIN: B0CKNL91V1
Listening Length: 14 hrs 28 mins
Narrators: David Baldacci, MacLeod Andrews, Sisi Aisha Johnson, Kiiri Sandy, Cary Hite
Publication Date: April 16, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: David Baldacci has been writing since childhood, when his mother gave him a lined notebook in which to write down his stories. (Much later, when David thanked her for being the spark that ignited his writing career, she revealed that she’d given him the notebook to keep him quiet, “because every mom needs a break now and then.”)

David published his first novel, ABSOLUTE POWER, in 1996. The feature film adaptation followed, with Clint Eastwood as its director and star. In total, David has published 50 novels for adults; all have been national and international bestsellers and several have been adapted for film and television. His novels have been translated into over 45 languages and sold in more than 80 countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. David has also published seven novels for younger readers.

David is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy programs across the United States.

Have a good week! — AI generated graphic courtesy Gemini Flash 2.5

The 6:20 Man: A Thriller by David Baldacci – #AudiobookReview – #ThrowbackThursday

#1 Best Seller in Crime Action Fiction

Book Blurb:

A cryptic murder pulls a former soldier turned financial analyst deep into the corruption and menace that prowl beneath the opulent world of finance, in #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci’s new thriller.

Every day without fail, Travis Devine puts on a cheap suit, grabs his faux-leather briefcase, and boards the 6:20 commuter train to Manhattan, where he works as an entry-level analyst at the city’s most prestigious investment firm. In the mornings, he gazes out the train window at the lavish homes of the uberwealthy, dreaming about joining their ranks. In the evenings, he listens to the fiscal news on his phone, already preparing for the next grueling day in the cutthroat realm of finance. Then one morning Devine’s tedious routine is shattered by an anonymous email: She is dead.

Sara Ewes, Devine’s coworker and former girlfriend, has been found hanging in a storage room of his office building—presumably a suicide, at least for now—prompting the NYPD to come calling on him. If that wasn’t enough, before the day is out, Devine receives another ominous visit, a confrontation that threatens to dredge up grim secrets from his past in the army unless he participates in a clandestine investigation into his firm. This treacherous role will take him from the impossibly glittering lives he once saw only through a train window, to the darkest corners of the country’s economic halls of power . . . where something rotten lurks. And apart from this high-stakes conspiracy, there’s a killer out there with their own agenda, and Devine is the bull’s-eye.

My Review:

Thoroughly bored and exhausted with his monotonous commute to the entry-level job as a financial analyst in an investment firm, the decorated ex-Army Ranger finds the life difficult after his military career came to an abrupt, somewhat ignominious end.

There is something he routinely checks out, however, the vision of a sweet young thing scantily clad or less lounging or swimming by the pool of an exclusive residential apartment. He’s not the only man on the train who awaits the scene with drooling interest every morning.

Then he is told a former girlfriend was found hanging in his office building and, yes, the authorities come looking for him. In a squeeze play with the feds, he is compelled to investigate her death but as his investigation progresses discovers there are matters that run much deeper than previously thought.

I rather enjoyed Travis Devine; down to earth, smart, and trying to squirm out of the fix he’s in while using those sources he’s cultivated from his past. Another interesting character is a Russian hacker who is Travis’ go-to source for all things black hat as well as one of his housemates.

These action thriller plots are never simple and the more complex, the convoluted—with twists and turns. Once again, we’ll expect to suspend some disbelief, but, hey, the characters are fun even if the storyline tends to meander. Not always fast-paced but entertaining and for the most part engaging, but for me—just a little long in the tooth.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Action Fiction, Action Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Mystery Action & Adventure
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ASIN: B09VR4LQNY
Listening Length: 11 hrs 48 mins.
Narrators: Zachary Webber, Christine Lakin, Mela Lee
Publication Date: July 12, 2022
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The 6:20 Man [Amazon]

David published his first novel, ABSOLUTE POWER, in 1996. The feature film adaptation followed, with Clint Eastwood as its director and star. In total, David has published 48 novels for adults; all have been national and international bestsellers and several have been adapted for film and television. His novels have been translated into over 45 languages and sold in more than 80 countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. David has also published seven novels for younger readers.

David is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy programs across the United States.

#throwbackthursday

Down Range by Taylor Moore – #AudiobookReview – #ThrowbackThursday

Garrett Kohl #1

Book Blurb:

In this action-packed debut thriller for fans of C. J. Box and Jack Carr, DEA agent Garrett Kohl fights to protect his home on the Texas High Plains when a vicious criminal enterprise comes after his family.

As a decorated undercover DEA special agent, Garrett Kohl has traveled the world – and fought in most of it – but it’s the High Plains of northwest Texas he calls home and dreams of returning to one day. Kohl is in the middle of an assignment in Afghanistan when his commander orders him back to Texas on a short mission expected to take a week at most. But Kohl is unsettled to discover that he’s moving from one kind of war to another.

The once-peaceful ranching community he loves is under attack by a band of criminals who have infiltrated law enforcement and corrupted local businesses, and are now terrorizing Kohl’s own family. Hoping to prevent bloodshed, Kohl tries to resolve matters peacefully. But when the group strikes first, he has no choice but to go on the attack.

Unfortunately for the crew of criminals, Garrett Kohl, besides being an elite undercover officer for the DEA, is a battle-hardened Green Beret who spent the better part of his career hunting terrorists. Although outnumbered and outgunned, Kohl knows the wild and forsaken Llano Estacado region of Texas better than anyone. And like so many trespassers before them, these murderers will find out the hard way that the only thing tougher than this land is the people who call it home.

My Review:

Alright! This book is supposed to appeal to fans of C J Box and I’ve read-listened to CJ and enjoyed his books. But no, I’m not sure you can compare it to C J Box. This author has a writing style all his own and engaging characters with a somewhat more charismatic appeal.

Down Range is the first in a new series but for a debut, it makes quite a wallop. Action thriller from the beginning with a scene in which former Green Beret undercover DEA Special Agent Garret Kohl discovers he is witnessing a massacre in Afghanistan. Totally unexpected is a ten-year-old boy, Asadi, running for his life out of the village with no chance to escape. Kohl steps in and manages to save the boy but runs the risk of getting himself in serious trouble for blowing his cover and the investigation.

It’s determined both will be sent home and Agent Kohl is now charged with keeping the boy alive as the only possible witness.

I loved the road trip to his dad’s ranch in the Panhandle of Texas. Descriptions of the area border on poetic prose and there are fascinating histories gracefully interwoven with tender moments of bonding between the boy and Kohl.

Kohl’s irascible dad seems to take a paternal interest in Asadi and it isn’t long before Asadi is relaxing into the dream of America, the land, the wide open spaces, food, and the animals. Asadi particularly loves the horses and quickly determines a favorite.

Unfortunately, Texas takes a dark turn in the second half of the book when they bump up against the local narcotics trade. Of course, they don’t realize they are up against a former Green Beret who has seen his share of action and knows how to handle them. Sometimes though you feel sorry for poor Asadi caught in the middle who it seems to have jumped from the opium trade in Afghanistan to the local Texas drug trade.

I enjoyed the characters, loved Asadi and Kohl’s dad, his brother (an attorney) and a maybe romantic interest. It’s a well-plotted, fast-paced book that got the characters developed while keeping the action ball in the air which was non-stop.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts. This will be a fun series and this one quite the immersive narrative whether or not you think you don’t like contemporary Western fiction.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Western Fiction, Action Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Harper Audio
ASIN: B08S5N2JQD
Listening Length:
Narrator: Jeremy Arthur
Publication Date: August 03, 2021
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Down Range [Amazon]

The Author: Taylor Moore is a former CIA Intelligence Officer who worked in both analysis and operations and later consulted for the Department of Defense in Theater Security Cooperation, Force Protection, and Counternarcotics. He now lives in the Texas Panhandle with his wife and two children, where is a full-time author and screenwriter. You can learn more about Taylor and his series featuring Garrett Kohl at his website.

©V Williams

#ThrowbackThursday

Memory Man by David Baldacci – #BookReview – #AudiobookReview

nominee for Best Mystery & Thriller (2015)

Book Blurb:

Amos Decker’s life changed forever – twice.

The first time was on the gridiron. A big, towering athlete, he was the only person from his hometown of Burlington ever to go pro. But his career ended before it had a chance to begin. On his very first play, a violent helmet-to-helmet collision knocked him off the field for good and left him with an improbable side effect – he can never forget anything.

The second time was at home nearly two decades later. Now a police detective, Decker returned from a stakeout one evening and entered a nightmare – his wife, young daughter, and brother-in-law had been murdered.

His family destroyed, their killer’s identity as mysterious as the motive behind the crime, and unable to forget a single detail from that horrible night, Decker finds his world collapsing around him. He leaves the police force, loses his home, and winds up on the street, taking piecemeal jobs as a private investigator when he can.

But over a year later, a man turns himself in to the police and confesses to the murders. At the same time a horrific event nearly brings Burlington to its knees, and Decker is called back in to help with this investigation. Decker also seizes his chance to learn what really happened to his family that night. To uncover the stunning truth, he must use his remarkable gifts and confront the burdens that go along with them. He must endure the memories he would much rather forget. And he may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

My Review:

Not content to wallow in a Baldacci book last year, guess I thought if I tried a first in the series, it would work better for me. Or maybe not.

Amos Decker was a football player in Burlington; something I was careful not to promote with my own son (now 6’2”) when he was in school. This fella, however, was good. Apparently as good as he was big (really big) and went pro. His first play is so violent it was also his last. He could have, should have died—would have were he anyone else. But he survived and his world was never the same.

So, okay, fast forward, he is married and a police detective. Unfortunately, he discovers his family murdered upon his return late from a stakeout. The perp is never caught, he leaves the force, and loses most of anything else that matters. Eventually, he becomes a private investigator. In the meantime, he’s let himself go. Big time.

The main character is unappealing in…pretty much every way. This is a guy you don’t want to imagine and descriptions of him only make it worse. His claim to fame now is his side effect from his pro days—hyperthymesia. He remembers everything.

Every stinking detail.

When a guy turns himself in and confesses to the murders of his family, he is thrown for a loop but that event is overshadowed by the horrific slaying of kids and adults at his old school. When they call him back to help with the school investigation, he sees his opportunity to also find out more about the man who confessed to the murder of his family—but clearly can’t remember ever seeing or knowing him. Oops!

Now I remember part of my problem with a Baldacci narrative—he repeats salient plot points ad nauseum, possibly adding a tiny bit of nuance each time (or not), a new clue, direction, person he can glean yet another repeat and clue. I guess that’s one way to get a prescribed number of words, but gosh darn, I do get tired of hearing it again. There are lots of books with better pacing.

Can we just get on with it?

You can’t say he doesn’t add the twists and turns, borders on TMI, but the info on football is one I’ve long been acquainted with in pro sports—the games are physically and mentally punishing on the players. Excruciatingly so. Old at thirty and washed out.

Finally, the plot goes way beyond convoluted, so complicated as to seriously lose the motive. Does it add up or make sense? Guess these things don’t have to.

I ran into somewhat the same when I read Dream Town and yet, here we go again.

I received a copy of this audiobook from my handy dandy library that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts. It bothers me sometimes that the male/female narrators give me the impression that one is recording on the west coast and the other the east. They just don’t flow as they should in normal conversation.

Rosepoint Rating: Three Stars

Book Details:

Genre: International Mystery & Crime, Action Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Mystery Action & Adventure
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Narrators: Ron McLarty, Orlagh Cassidy
ASIN: B00V6FUY0E
Listening Length: 13 hrs 16 mins
Publication Date: April 21, 2015
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

David published his first novel, ABSOLUTE POWER, in 1996. A feature film followed, with Clint Eastwood as its director and star. In total, David has published 44 novels for adults; all have been national and international bestsellers and several have been adapted for film and television. His novels have been translated into over 45 languages and sold in more than 80 countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. David has also published seven novels for younger readers.

David is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across the United States.

K, luv u, bye

Clive Cussler The Sea Wolves (An Isaac Bell Adventure Book 13) by Jack Du Brul – #Audiobook Review – #actionthriller

in Suspense Action Fiction (in Kindle format)

Book Blurb:

Detective Isaac Bell battles foreign spies, German U-boats, and an old nemesis to capture a secret technology that could alter the outcome of World War I in the latest adventure in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Clive Cussler.

As New England swelters in the summer of 1914, Detective Isaac Bell is asked to investigate a cache of missing rifles—only to discover something much more sinister. Whoever broke into this Winchester Factory wasn’t looking to take weapons, they wanted to leave something in the shipping crates: a radio transmitter, set to summon a fleet of dreaded German U-boats. Someone is trying to keep American supplies from reaching British shores, and if Bell doesn’t crack the conspiracy in time, the Atlantic Ocean will run red with blood.

Bell must hunt down a new piece of technology that is allowing the Germans to rule the seas from New York to England. With the outcome of the war at stake and Franklin Roosevelt’s orders on the line, Bell will risk everything to stop the U-Boats before they strike again.

My Review:

Trying to stay neutral isn’t easy when Britain and Germany are about to go at it. Still, things are already going on behind the scenes in America quietly trying to send materiel to Britain. Britain severed Germany’s undersea telephone cable but either the Germans are getting awfully lucky or there is a rat at the east coast harbor.

The Van Dorn Detective Agency is hired to monitor Winchester rifle shipments to Britain as they are becoming aware there are German submarines set to block shipments across the Atlantic. With the Van Dorns is Isaac Bell who discovers a hidden radio transmitter in the consignment of rifles.

Because of that discovery, they are later asked to locate a German spy ring. It’s becoming apparent that the Germans are in possession of technology far more advanced than that of the Allies.

Isaac Bell is a larger-than-life protagonist and dominates the main character position. Between him and Van Dorn, they manage to discover the how and where and prepare to intercept the spies and their secret equipment. The pace picks up quickly after a somewhat leisurely start to the storyline with a prologue that discloses the history of the main antagonist.

I picked up this audiobook as I recognized the name of Clive Cussler and was interested in the WWI plot. It’s a little dismaying to see that it’s “co-authored”(?) in small print. After the plot goes into an explanation of the equipment and the struggle of getting it into the proper hands, it definitely amps up the action.

Interesting the way this author ties his story into the sinking of the Lusitania, making it sound believable, and me wondering why this novel wasn’t considered historical fiction rather than action thriller or crime thriller, although it does become a thriller—with espionage and the brutality of war criminals.

I had a little problem with the narrator for the first quarter of the book or so, but once the narrative took on a lot more action, he smoothed out his delivery.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Action Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Mystery Action & Adventure, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B09SNJN4RC
Listening Length: 12 hrs 2 mins
Narrator: Scott Brick
Publication Date: November 8, 2022
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Sea Wolves [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Four stars

The Author: Jack du Brul is the author of the Philip Mercer series [Vulcan’s Forge, Charon’s Landing, The Medusa Stone, Pandora’s Curse, River of Ruin, Deep Fire Rising,and Havoc] and the coauthor with Clive Cussler of six Oregon Files novels [Dark Watch, Skeleton Coast, Plague Ship, Corsair,The Silent Sea, and The Jungle]. He lives in Vermont.